Author: Thom

Because it faces onto a very tiny plaza, it was impossible for me to get a decent photo of the entire façade of the Catedral de Santa María de Astorga. You might get a decent shot with a drone, or if you were on the roof of one of the buildings across the plaza. Here’s my best take – and […]

We spent a restful night in the albergue of the Asociación de Amigos del Camino, where we shared a room with Smith and Tara. Early the next morning, we made our way to the Plaza de Eduardo de Castro, which contains both the Cathedral and this place. This is a museum, originally designed as Astorga’s Episcopal Palace by Antoni Gaudí […]

The end of Francine’s first day on Camino came all too quickly, and little time was left to explore this wonderful city. That would have to wait until our next Camino in 2016, when we basically spent half a day in this city. Here we see the lengthening shadows of evening washing across Astorga’s beautiful town hall (Ayuntamiento de Astorga) […]

A rare double-photo! The climb up the hill into the city center of Astorga is not an easy one, as you can see. After a day’s walk and clambering up and down the railroad bridge, it almost feels like gratuitous suffering. You better believe I leaned on that rail as I climbed. At the top, you are greeted by this […]

The history of settlement on this site dates back to at least the Iron Age, though there were Paleolithic settlements in the area more than 100,000 years ago. The Roman city of Asturica Augusta was founded here in 14 BC. I love that this is the name posted here where the Camino enters the city proper. You can see the […]

The Camino arrives in the city of Astorga by means of an enormous, multi-level metal bridge over railroad tracks. It involves climbing several zig-zag stories up and then down. It’s my understanding that the bridge was briefly labeled as the “Peregrino Torture Tower” on Google Maps. Although I’ve crossed this bridge twice now, I don’t appear to have any actual […]

There are almost as many different kinds of signs on the Camino as there are pilgrims. Here are two of them, set in the rough ruins of a village that has clearly seen better days. Date: 20 April 2013Place: San Justo de la Vega (Province of León, Castilla y León, Spain)Today started: León → Hospital de Órbigo (Province of León, […]

Here we see two weary pilgrims entering the village of San Justo de la Vega. Although it’s right next to the great city of Astorga, San Justo feels much more like a village than a suburb. Well, other than the immense wideness of the main road, which is a major highway. Date: 20 April 2013Place: Entering San Justo de la […]

The Camino drops into the city of Astorga following a relatively steep paved road. In this photo, it looks like a cliff! It’s great for bicycles but not so much for those of us on foot. Still, they have thoughtfully provided benches every so often. In the foreground, you can see the village of San Justo de la Vega, and […]